Why Do We Need a New, Integrated Care Campus?

Posted 28 March 2014 1:14 PM by TCAuthor3

By Carol Ryczek, community relations, Shawano Medical Center

When patients come in to ThedaCare Physicians-Shawano, they can’t help but see the large steel framework of the new ThedaCare Medical Center-Shawano. And often, their first question to our staff is “Why are you building this big new building?”

It’s a fair question. At a time where every health care dollar has an impact, how can we justify spending $50 million on a new health care facility? The answer is that we couldn’t afford not to.

The current Shawano Medical Center building is well-maintained and has retained much of its 1930’s-era beauty. But it was designed for an entirely different model of healthcare…a model where patients stayed for weeks, not hours. And despite its size, it doesn’t hold all the services patients need today, including Rehabilitation Services and the offices of family doctors.

The new medical center will bring all three campuses together. It will include inpatient beds, outpatient beds, an emergency department, family birth center, inpatient and outpatient surgery, rehabilitation services, education center, oncology services, offices for primary care and other specialty doctors; and a retail pharmacy.

As a medical hub, it will also connect patients to other ThedaCare services such as homecare, hospice care, occupational medicine, sports medicine, and specialized surgical and specialty services.

By bringing these services together, the new location will save $1.6 million over 10 years on maintenance and energy costs. The combined campus will eliminate duplicate technology and save over $750,000 each year in service contracts, maintenance, and other costs.

It will also allow the hospital and clinic personnel to work together, reducing the cost of staffing the same services in two locations.

Most of all, though, by bringing these services together in the most cost-effective way possible, it will reduce confusion for patients, eliminate unnecessary trips across town, and help our staff provide a great patient care experience. And that, as the saying goes, is priceless.